epiphany ━━ chapter i.
. . . it still hurts underneath my scars

CABIN SEVEN HAD always been crowded. It had been four years previously, when a, at the time, fourteen-year-old Ronan Tyler had showed Nova and her twin brother, Caster, around after being "claimed" by the god of sun and poetry, and it still was now, four years later, when the girl herself had turned fourteen.

Because of the many residents, the house was never empty. When she first arrived at the camp, Nova hated that. She liked her privacy and sometimes just needs to be alone. Now, though, she found comfort in the presence of her siblings.

Sometimes she still needed a moment of quietness, then she would go to the lake—a lot of people went there, but she had found a spot where no one went; her special place—but when the Apollo cabin was quiet, she knew that something was wrong.

Right now, it was completely quiet.

No sound was heard as Nova stepped inside after a small walk in forest. She nervously called out for someone, but no answer came.

Her mind immediately went to the worst possible scenarios as she looked around her home. Had everyone died? Had some monster invaded camp and frightened everyone to run away?

None of these turned out to be the case, because only a moment after, a disheveled Ronan Tyler came running to the entrance and shouted for her.

"Nova," The girl felt her heart rise to her throat. He never called her Nova. Something had to be wrong. "I think you need to come quickly,"

"Has something happened?" Nova hurried after the older boy, "Are there news about Caster?"

He bit his lip as he nodded, holding out his hand for her to take. "Kind of,"

✷ ✷ ✷

          IT SEEMED LIKE almost all campers had decided to hang out on the campground in front of the main house at the exact same time. It seemed weird for so many people to be together, but as the two got closer, Nova saw what had brought them together.

Ronan was making his way through the crowd rather quickly, for once not caring that he was pushing people out of the way. Nova was following closely behind him, but she didn't need to push at people to get through, because as soon as the campers caught sight of her face, they parted like the Red Sea for her to walk towards the middle.

She had been worried before, but the looks the older kids were sending her made her heartbeat increase, creating a fast drumming sound in her ears and a uncontrollable shake of her hands as she purposely looked away from their analysing gazes that slowly filled up with pity.

"Nova," Chiron stood in the middle of the circle, and the sound of his voice made the last eyes, the very few that weren't already fixated on her, make their way to the fourteen-year-old as she stepped into the middle of the group. "I think we should give Nova and Jared some time alone together!"

It wasn't before that, that the girl noticed the boy standing in front of her. He didn't exactly look well with his dirty clothes and bloodshot eyes, but even with the terrified expression etched upon on his face, Nova would still be able to recognise the dark haired boy who looked back at her with a sorrowful frown in his warm, brown eyes.

Her eyes didn't stop at his face, though. They kept going around him, searching for something else. Someone else.

He had to be there somewhere. Jared wouldn't return without him. Not unless. . .

She luckily didn't get think finish her thought trail, as Jared took a pained step towards her so they were standing face to face.

He was a bit older than her, and it showed considering he had to down to meet her eyes.

"I'm so sorry—"

"What do you mean?" She didn't let him finish.

Her heart was about to beat out of her chest as she studied his face. She searched for some indicator that he wasn't about to say what she feared.

"He's still down there," Jared let out a choked sob. "We tried to escape together, but we got away from each other and I couldn't find him again,"

He let a strangled sound as he tried to hold back his tears. It wasn't working very good, his eyes were filled to the brim with tears threatening to drop at any moment.

"I promised to protect him! I failed!" His legs collapsed under him as he shouted in pain. "I'm so sorry, I'm so, so sorry."

Nova stood nailed to the ground in front of him. The world seemed to stop as she took in his words.

She had tried to stop him. All the nights prior to Caster and Jared's departure had been spend awake for Nova and Caster as the girl begged her brother not to go. She couldn't handle to lose another brother. She couldn't handle another accident.

The sound of her younger brother's screams still echoed in her mind at times. Images from the night where she lost him—the night where she first came to the camp—still appeared in her worst nightmares. Scars like that never really healed, and when she poked them just the tiniest bit it all came rushing back.

That night had made her nervous, but it had made her twin brother reckless. Now he was facing the consequences of his recklessness.

No one had wanted to go down in the mystical labyrinth that was rumoured to drive people to insanity. No one except her crazy brother, of course. Her best friend.

"Is there hope for him down there?" She hadn't noticed that Ronan had put himself behind her before he spoke up with a question that she didn't need the answer to.

"I don't know," Jared was crying loudly. "It's crazy down there!"

Normally, Nova would be feeling sad about the state her friend was in, but she couldn't bring herself to feel anything in that moment.

She couldn't lose another brother.

author's note
nova is actually the perfect mix between folklore and lover